Fiona Dobie

A teacher, originally from Falkirk, has received a commendation from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) for her undergraduate thesis.

Abigail Stirling, a former pupil of Comely Park Primary and Mary Erskine’s, graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a first class BEd (Hons) in Primary Education earlier this year.

Her dissertation, which explored the matter of transgender children in Scottish primary schools, attracted praise from a panel of educationalists seeking to find the most distinguished BEd assignments and award the George D Gray CBE MA Award.

Abigail was presented with a Commendation Award at a meeting of the full council of GTCS last month.

Abigail, who teaches at Linlithgow Primary School, said: “I am delighted to receive this commendation and am very pleased that the relevance of my research has been recognised, as it highlights the real struggles that trans children can face each day in school and the importance of ensuring that teachers are fully equipped to support them.

“Although the discussion around the issue of trans children in schools may seem daunting and sometimes difficult to broach, it is becoming increasingly clear that trans pupils generally do not feel supported and nurtured by existing systems.

“In order to facilitate change it is vital that teachers themselves are given access to information, training and support that is informed by the wider transgender movement.”